How To Cultivate That Decisive Stoic Attitude
To fully grasp Stoicism and benefit from this ancient philosophy, we need to practice Stoic mindfulness or prosoche. It's nothing magical but a fundamental attitude for everyone who wants to reach the calmness of a Stoic. So, if you ever wondered how Stoics can keep their cool, read on to discover an essential concept and learn how to make it yours.
What Is Prosoche?
Basically, prosoche means attention, and Stoic mindfulness is often used as a modern term to express this idea. It's the foundation of Stoicism and many other philosophical or spiritual paths.
Without attention, we can't see, hear, or feel our present perceptions clearly - or, in other words - we can't live in accordance with nature.
According to Pierre Hadot, prosoche is the state of continuous, vigilant, and unrelenting attentiveness to oneself - the present impressions, present desires, and present actions that shape one's moral character (prohairesis).1
Two words are vital to emphasize to comprehend Stoic mindfulness. The first is continuous, and the second is present.
Consequently, we want to cultivate a mindset that makes a continuous effort to become aware of its conditions in the present moment.
Why Is It Essential In Stoic Practice?
Training our attention takes work, especially when we consider all the daily distractions. Still, it is essential to make progress in our Stoic practice.
We can only change our thoughts and actions by understanding our current judgments and desires - our current way of thinking. Once we've acquired this understanding, we can become the creators in our ongoing journey of forming and improving our character.
In short - prosoche (Stoic mindfulness) is the beginning of self-knowledge.
How To Practice Prosoche?
We can think of attention as a muscle. If we don't exercise regularly, this muscle will weaken and won't work as it could. And to strengthen our "attention muscle", we must regularly pay attention to our present impressions, present desires, and present actions.
The path to cultivating Stoic mindfulness is four-fold. But don't worry. We begin easy and progressively add some weight to strengthen our attention.
- Reflect upon your current situation.
- Observe your thoughts.
- Make yourself familiar with mindfulness exercises.
- Pay continuous attention to your present state of mind.
Reflection
The best way to do this is to journal about your current state of mindfulness. How mindful are you typically?
If you're not mindful at all, that's okay. Don't blame yourself. You're at the beginning of an exciting journey to eudaimonia.
Observation
Next, take a few moments to think about a usual day.
- What do you do when you wake up? What do you usually think and feel?
- What is your morning routine?
- What do you do during the day?
- What does a typical evening look like?
Go through your entire day like that. If you want, make notes. Take 2-4 things you do every day, like eating a meal, brushing your teeth, having a shower, driving to work, cooking, cleaning the dishes, etc.
Then, during the next week, you observe your thoughts, impressions, judgments, and actions while doing the events you picked. Just observe non-judgmentally; nothing more is needed.
When you feel comfortable and can do this for one or two weeks in a row, you can add some weight by enhancing this observation practice to your entire day.
Mindfulness Exercises
As you progress in your observation practice, you can simultaneously begin to familiarize yourself with mindfulness exercises like the different variations of meditation, for instance, mindfulness meditation or breathing meditation, or other exercises focused on mindfulness, such as eating with full attention and with all senses.
To manage your expectations, it won't make a huge difference overnight. That's why I strongly encourage you to experiment a lot to find out what works best for you and what helps you most to strengthen your attention muscle. Mindfulness training is much more like a marathon than a sprint. It requires constant practice and dedication over a long period to reap its fruits.
Continuous Attention
This last stage will never end; it isn't a fixed destination, and all practices above are the preparation needed to cultivate this stage of Stoic mindfulness. Finally, they add up to paying continuous attention to your sensations in the present moment.
Once you arrive here, you will be able to recognize your initial judgments and change them immediately, aligned with the logos (cosmic reason), free of passion (apatheia), and totally at peace with yourself and the world around you.
Final Thoughts
The practice of Stoic mindfulness is integral to fully harnessing the power of Stoicism. Without it, Stoicism loses half its potential and becomes more like a life-hack philosophy. But when putting in the effort to practice attention, Stoicism can bring authentic change.
References:
1) Hadot, 1995, pp. 59 & 84; also see Hadot, P. (2002) What is Ancient Philosophy? Cambridge: Harvard University Press, p. 138
